BMW Sales, Earnings Helped by China Demand

Luxury car maker BMW AG (BMW.XE) said Thursday its earnings and sales rose in the second quarter, helped by demand in China.

Net profit after minorities in the April-through-June period was 2.19 billion euros ($2.59 billion), up 13% from EUR1.94 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest and taxes rose 7.5% to EUR2.93 billion, beating expectations for EUR2.87 billion. Revenue grew 3.1% to EUR25.8 billion.

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In the automotive segment, BMW's closely-watched margin on EBIT rose to 9.7% in the quarter from 9.5%. BMW said it would stick to its 2017 target for a margin between 8% and 10%.

BMW provided a break-out of regional sales for the quarter showing vehicle sales in China up 25% and Europe rising 0.4%. In the Americas, second-quarter deliveries fell 6.1%, held down by the contracting automobile market in the U.S., it said.

The company confirmed its outlook for a slight increase in pretax profit in 2017, as widely expected.